BENET INTERVIEW - 7

Montag: (Q18) So much of the closure, so much of the meaning in some of these poems depends on the right image set in exactly the right place. For instance, the very end of "Incomplete Requiem" (p. 43): "... the living and the dead in a blaze of light." Would you agree with this characterization of your technique?

Benet: I'll pick bits and pieces from my answer to Question 17. Again, all I can say is yes... the right image in the right place matters, or, to quote an old saw:

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

(William Carlos Williams: "The Red Wheelbarrow")

There are those poets who would argue that what makes the poem is the right sound or the right word that shakes language alive. Then there are those, like William Carlos Williams, who put the load of poetry into the wheelbarrow. I like to heap the images myself, but hope (and aspire) to distribute the load into sound and language, too.

Montag: (Q19) Would you talk about your use of images of light and darkness in these poems. What do these light/dark images arise from? Are light and dark powerful images in your life as well as in your art?

Benet: I guess I was not aware of the preponderance of images of light and darkness in my poems, but I can tell you that I do take note of light in my life. I am aware of the skies around me, the slant of sunsets at different latitudes and such. I love the notion of chiaroscuro - the way in which light and dark contrast to create depth and texture. So, as you can see, it’s not a spiritual element in my work, but a strictly visual one. I did also dabble in painting, a long time ago....

Continued at BENET INTERVIEW - 8, below